Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk during his visit to the US to meet with President Donald Trump. The exact topics discussed in the meeting are not clear, although Modi told on X that both men talked about various issues, including those he cares about such as space, mobility, technology and innovation.
Modi and Musk met on Thursday during the Indian prime minister’s visit to the US. Modi arrived with his top advisers, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
Later, at a joint press conference with Modi at the White House, Trump said he was not sure why Musk met with the Indian prime minister, but suggested that Musk “wants to do business in India.” He also added:
“I’m going to assume that he might have met, probably because, you know, he runs a company.”
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that Modi and Musk discussed strengthening co-operation between Indian and American organisations in the areas of innovation, space exploration, artificial intelligence and sustainable development, as well as entrepreneurship and good governance.
Modi and Musk also met in New York in 2023. Musk had said then that he was confident that Tesla would be in India as soon as possible.
Musk’s ambitions for India
Musk, who has previously described himself as a Modi fan, has long wanted his satellite internet service Starlink to enter the Indian market. However, its launch has been delayed due to regulatory issues, security concerns and opposition from domestic telecom giants such as Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio.
Last November, India’s telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said Starlink was yet to comply with security norms and a licence for satellite communications services would be issued only after the company complied with all requirements.
Musk had earlier criticised India’s policy of allocating spectrum for satellite services through auction. Later, the Indian government changed the policy and said that it will assign spectrum for satellites and will not auction it.
The satellite broadband market in India is extremely competitive. At least six companies control the market, led by Ambani’s Reliance Jio.
Apart from regulatory hurdles, Musk’s Starlink has also faced resistance from Reliance Jio, which last year said that allocation of spectrum for satellite services through auction was necessary to ensure fair competition.
Musk’s Starlink has at least 6,900 active satellites orbiting the earth, providing low-latency broadband internet access to about 4.6 million people. However, if Musk wants to enter the Indian market, Starlink’s high price tag could be a concern.
Mobile data in India is among the cheapest in the world, and Jio Ambani once provided data for free on its mobile plans. Yet at least 40 per cent of the country’s more than 1.4 billion people still lack internet access. Cheap broadband is needed to overcome this problem, especially in India’s vast remote and mountainous areas.
